Sweet Surrender: A MacKenzie Family Novella

by Liliana Hart

  “I can only imagine what those thighs will feel like around my waist,” he said.

  “You won’t have to imagine if you’ll hurry up,” she panted. “Besides, I thought you were going to tell me what you’re planning to do to my ass.”

  Before she realized it, he’d flipped her onto her stomach in a move that would’ve made Bruce Lee proud. He growled and his fingers stroked the round globe of her ass just before she felt the sting of his hand. Her fingers dug into the mattress and she let out a little yip of surprise. She felt the heat on her skin and the warmth between her legs.

  “Again,” she said, lifting her ass in the air.

  “Like that, did you?”

  “Oh, yeah. Do it again,” she said, her voice more demanding this time.

  “Bossy,” he said, and then did as she asked, this time with three sharp smacks. “Red looks good on you, sweetheart.”

  She was soaking wet, and she whimpered as he leaned down and kissed her reddened cheeks before he flipped her back over. His hands went to the buckle of his belt and the swish of it rushing through the belt loops had her eyes widening and her pussy spasming with anticipation.

  “Naughty girl,” he said, smirking.

  “Apparently,” she answered.

  She pouted in disappointment as he put the belt on the nightstand and stripped out of his jeans. He most certainly wasn’t shy, and he had no reason to be. She licked her lips in anticipation as his briefs joined his jeans on the floor.

  “You’re right,” she said, voice raspy. “There’s plenty of time for foreplay later. Very impressive.”

  “Take off your shirt,” he ordered. “I’m afraid this first time is going to be fast and furious. I hope you don’t mind.”

  She got up on her knees on the bed and pulled the clingy black shirt over her head so she was left in nothing but the lacy red underwear she’d put on that morning. She was an underwear junkie, and the sexier the better. She’d always worn it for herself first, but she was thanking God for her weakness at the moment because Grant looked like he was about to self-combust.

  “Baby…” he said, coming onto the bed with her.

  “Yes?”

  “Those tits of yours are extremely fuckable.”

  “The rest of me is pretty fuckable too,” she said, undoing the front clasp of her bra.

  It had taken her a long time to feel comfortable in her own skin. To love her body. She’d never been like the other girls in school. She was six feet tall, for starters. And when you added curves to that it just made the teen years even more awkward. But she’d eventually learned that she’d never be a size zero, and she’d never be petite. Once she got her head out of the sand, she realized that men liked it when a woman could fill out her clothes in all the right places. Richard had always said she was “stacked.” Of course, Richard was a horndog who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants, so what did he know.

  “I don’t suppose you found any condoms in this place,” she said, shrugging her bra off her shoulders and tossing it away.

  “You should’ve looked under your pillow. There are four of them.”

  “Four?” she asked.

  “I’m probably going to have to hunt up a few more than that,” he said, facing her on his knees as well. “You are about the hottest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on. And I hope you don’t mind, but…”

  She gasped as he ripped the flimsy lace panties, and then his mouth was on hers in a kiss hotter than she’d ever experienced. She’d never been with a man his size, but men his size were rare. He had to be at least six foot four or five, and she actually had to tilt her head up to meet his lips.

  She moaned and felt his cock press against her hip. It looked like they’d measure up perfectly. Hands roamed and legs tangled as they rolled across the giant bed. And then she felt him reach for the condom under the pillow and she watched him roll it on with a practiced hand.

  His body came back down over hers, and the weight of him felt glorious as her legs circled his waist. She whimpered as he pressed into her, the size of him a shock to her system. And then he slid the rest of the way inside her in one smooth motion and she felt her eyes roll back into her head.

  If someone had asked her to describe what being well and truly fucked felt like, she wouldn’t have been able to do it. At least not coherently. It was like being outside her own body and being invaded at the same time. Heat infused her skin and the rhythmic glide of his cock against something deep inside of her made stars explode behind her closed eyes.

  Her moans of pleasure grew louder and her nails bit into his back. And then he pushed against her once more—against that place inside of her that had never been touched. He held himself there.

  And she lost her fucking mind.

  Somewhere in the recesses of her brain she knew he was coming too, but she was too busy trying to breathe through the exquisite pleasure that wracked her body. She’d never had an orgasm that felt like it had been ripped from her very soul.

  Sometime later, once the sweat had cooled from their skin and their hearts had stopped jackhammering against their chests, he managed to roll from her body, though he pulled her against him.

  “That was nice,” he said sleepily against her neck.

  “Nice?” she asked, insulted. She’d just had the best sex of her life and he thought it was nice?

  She felt his smile against her skin, and she stiffened against him. Maybe this was the reason she’d never had a one-night stand.

  “Really nice,” he amended and then laughed when she punched him in the arm. “You’re already too cocky. I’m just trying to keep you level-headed.”

  “I should probably tell you that I’m not good at keeping a level head when I lose my temper. When I caught my ex-fiancé cheating on me, I might have driven my car through the bedroom window.”

  He jerked back in surprise. “I’m sleeping with a felon?”

  “Nah, he didn’t press charges. Rich people don’t like the publicity, and it would’ve tarnished his golden-boy reputation if people found out he’d been screwing around on me. It was a win-win for everyone.”

  “I have to say the image of you driving through his bedroom window is kind of hot,” he said. “Crazy. But hot.”

  “Sometimes justice needs to be served in ways that no cop or court can measure.”

  His expression hardened and he rolled to the side, disposing of the condom. “That I’ll agree with a hundred percent.”

  Chapter Three

  “Sure you’re okay?” Grant asked. He pressed the phone against his ear and waited for Cooper to answer.

  Cooper grunted and then there were muffled noises as someone else took the phone.

  “Grant?” A familiar voice swept through the line.

  “Who’s this?” he asked, slightly distracted as he peeked through the blinds and looked out over Surrender. It was late afternoon and already the sun was disappearing behind the buildings across the street. He’d only stopped long enough to pull on his jeans as he’d gotten up to check the security of the apartment.

  According to Lane Greyson, who was one of Cooper’s deputies, Surrender hadn’t seen this kind of violence and destruction since the late eighteen hundreds, back when Cole MacKenzie had been the only lawman in the territory.

  Fast-forward a hundred and thirty years and once again, the people of Surrender had hidden in terror as gunfire destroyed a perfect piece of town history. Once the smoke had cleared and the shooter had vanished, the citizens of Surrender had swarmed Main Street, and even now there was still a crowd gathered in the street below. They’d be talking about the events of the morning a hundred years from now, just like they talked about what happened when Cole MacKenzie had to draw on his own brother more than a century before.

  “It’s Thomas,” the voice said on the other end of the line.

  Grant let the slat of the blind fall. Thomas MacKenzie was the town doctor, and he’d been able to tend to Cooper almost as soon as he’d been shot.<
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  “What’s up, Doc?” Grant asked.

  “That never gets old,” Thomas said dryly.

  “I wouldn’t care if it did,” Grant grinned. “How’s Coop?”

  “He’s fine. Already asking to be released, but he’s going to be observed overnight. The perks of having MacKenzie Secur…”

  “Don’t tell me where you are,” Grant interrupted. “There’s a good possibility we’re being monitored.”

  “Our family is used to it,” Thomas said. “Tell the bastard to bring it on, whoever he is. Believe me, we’ve dealt with a lot worse.”

  “She,” Grant said. “The bastard is a she.”

  “At least that makes it interesting,” Thomas said. And then there was a lot of muttering and a couple of curses from Thomas. “Stop it, Coop. You’re all drugged up. You are not leaving this bed. And no one is taking you out dancing. Claire would skin the both of us.”

  Grant chuckled as he listened to the conversation between the brothers and looked back at Liza, stretched out like a goddess on the bed. Damn, was that a sexy woman. She was still naked and barely covered by the sheet. Statuesque was what his father would’ve called her. And she was in crazy good shape. He’d probably have bruises on his lower back where her heels had pressed in.

  Grant moved back to the bed and slid in behind her, wrapping his arm around her.

  “We should give Coop drugs more often,” Thomas said, laughing. “He’s kept the whole family laughing with his gibberish.”

  “Like what?”

  “He keeps talking about an assassin and a hellcat. And then says women are nothing but trouble.”

  “That’s the damned truth,” he said.

  “That’s part of the reason I wanted to talk to you,” Thomas said. “Before I shot Cooper full of drugs, he said you need to get out of town and lay low. Whoever’s after you doesn’t seem to care that there are a lot of innocent bystanders in her way.”

  “No, not this time,” Grant said. “I’ll draw her away.”

  “I have a remote cabin up in the mountains we use during hunting season. I’ll text you the location. Oh, and Coop said don’t get too caught up with the hellcat. She’s trouble with a capital T.”

  Cooper had tried to warn him off before, but now that he’d felt that body wrapped around him, the warnings were starting to piss him off.

  “Why?” Grant bit the word out.

  “Well, rumor has it she drove a Mercedes through her fiancé’s house.”

  “Ex-fiancé,” he corrected. “And I knew that already. Tell me something I don’t know.”

  “Since he knows you’re drawn to trouble like a fly to honey, he also said to tell you the apartment above the sheriff’s office has cameras strategically located throughout, but he wants you to know they’re not activated. It was Cooper’s place before he got married.”

  Which explained everything. He and Cooper had been friends long enough that he knew exactly the kind of lifestyle Cooper had led before marriage. Hell, Grant had even joined him at the clubs he’d enjoyed a time or two.

  “I guess that would explain the pulley system over the bed,” he said.

  “Oh, yeah,” Thomas said, drawing out the words. “And, it’s…”

  “Remote control,” Grant finished for him. “I’ve already figured it out and have great plans for it.”

  “I’m not at all surprised. You and Cooper are two of a kind.”

  “Except he still has a job,” Grant said, the bitterness escaping more than he’d meant it to.

  “A job for now,” Thomas said. “You never know what opportunities await once you get out of your comfort zone.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” He sighed and then looked down at his phone as it buzzed. “Got your text of the location. We’ll head out after nightfall.”

  “In all seriousness,” Thomas said, “be careful. From what I understand, this woman almost got you once. All you need to do is ask for help and it’s yours. You’re like a brother to Coop, and we take that seriously.”

  “I’ve got it,” he said. “I can handle a damn woman. I had her once, and I’ll have her again.”

  Liza turned in his arms and her gaze narrowed on his before she tried to buck out of his hold.

  “Not you,” he mouthed.

  “Be careful out there,” Thomas said. “And call if you need reinforcements. Oh, and don’t let her drive.” Thomas was laughing when Grant hung up on him.

  “What’s all that about?”

  “Nothing much. You know Thomas?”

  “Anyone who’s ever spent any amount of time in Surrender knows all of the MacKenzies. It’s hard not to,” she said, smirking. “They make an impressive package. And it didn’t sound like nothing.”

  “He told me I shouldn’t let you drive.”

  “That’s not the first time I’ve heard that,” she said. “What do you think, cowboy? You think driving a car through someone’s house makes me a crazy bitch?”

  “Some people might think that,” he said. “But there’s something to be said for that level of betrayal. You’ve got a wild streak. He should’ve known that after being engaged to you. Hell, I’ve known you a few hours and I already know that. I happen to like wild streaks.”

  “That would explain the damn woman you said you could handle,” she said, arching a brow. “Can I assume that’s who shot the hell out of my bakery this morning?”

  “That would be a good assumption,” he said. “We really need to get out of here.”

  “Why? I thought you said this place was safe.”

  “It’s bulletproof,” Grant said, hesitating. “But maybe not safe. And there’s also the issue of the cameras in this place.”

  She recoiled and her gaze darted around the room, looking for any visible signs.

  “And no, I didn’t know about them beforehand,” he said before she could ask. “This used to be Cooper’s place, and let’s just say he was into doing things a little differently.”

  “I’d always heard the rumors about Cooper and his sexual tastes when I was growing up, but I never thought they were a hundred percent true. You know how people in small towns like to talk.”

  “Oh, they’re true,” Grant said. “Cooper took his role as a Dom very seriously.”

  “What about you?” she asked, walking her fingers across his thigh. “Do you share any of his kinks?”

  “I’ve been known to,” he said. “But more for recreation. It was never a lifestyle for me.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, rolling from the bed and heading out of the room, naked as a jaybird.

  He wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean. Was she turned off by the thought of adding a little kink to sex? Women were a damned mystery. He got out of bed and followed behind her like a damned whipped puppy. He already wanted to get his hands on her again.

  She walked through the living room and toward the kitchen, and the outside motion lights came on.

  “Get down,” he told her, pushing her to the floor in case she got a stubborn streak and decided not to listen.

  “What’s going on?” she whispered, struggling to be released.

  “Caine,” he said.

  “I’ve got to tell you I’m not a fan,” she said. “She seems like a real bitch.”

  “That would be an accurate assessment. The motion lights outside just came on. The windows here are bulletproof, but I’d prefer not to test the theory if we can keep from it.”

  “Right,” she said, and then her eyes got big as saucers as he pulled out his 9mm and pointed it toward the door.

  “Where’d you have that thing hidden?”

  “Don’t ask,” he said. “Look, we can access Cooper’s office through the trapdoor under the living room rug. There’s a drop-down set of stairs. The only problem is the downstairs isn’t reinforced like it is up here, so we’ll be exposed. But at least we can grab keys to one of his units and get the hell out of here.”

  “No way, Lieutenant Bad Ass,” she hissed.
“I’m not sneaking into a sheriff’s office to escape like a criminal. Why don’t you just call in backup?”

  “This is Surrender. Cooper is in the hospital and drugged out of his mind and there’s one deputy on duty. Every town around us has the same small police force. It’s going to take time to gather a task force with enough numbers to go after her. At least a couple of days. So there is no backup right now.

  “And we’re not sneaking. I have permission to access whatever I need to.” Their voices were still hushed. He couldn’t hear any footsteps outside. The place was soundproofed, which worked in both their favors. “Lane Greyson said he’d give us a hand as soon as he could when I talked to him, but he’s dealing with some cows that managed to escape their enclosure. One of them walked into the road and caused a car to go into the ditch, and another one was found destroying some lady’s garden.”

  “Wow,” she said. “I’m guessing that kind of police work is unique to here.”

  “You’d be surprised,” he said. “Cops out here have to be well trained. There’s a lot of open space, and it’s a great area for major drug crimes and fugitives. Surrender has experienced both, and they’re damned lucky to have Cooper as their sheriff.”

  He motioned for her to stay down and he quietly rolled to his feet, making his way toward the window closest to the door. The landing area was small, and there wasn’t a place to hide. If she was out there, then he’d see her. He carefully shifted the blinds and felt his pulse spike when a cat jumped from the banister onto the porch and then ran back down the stairs.

  “Cat,” he said, letting out a slow breath.

  “Jesus,” she said, rolling onto her back. “Too many highs and lows in a day. This adrenaline rush shit is no joke.”

  “I can help you with that, sugar.”

  She tilted her head up and stretched seductively. “Oh, yeah? What’s the cure?”

  “It’s a step-by-step program,” he said, setting his gun on the coffee table. The motion light blinked off and he was left standing in almost total darkness. Only the dim light from the gaslights down Main Street eased between the edges of the window that looked over the town.